It's the Bloggers' Quilt Festival for fall

Welcome to the Bloggers' Quilt Festival....Thank you Amy for hosting this event.  

I Saw A Moose

 
     I Saw A Moose  is also called my AK quilt around here.  After a family trip to Alaska in 2009,  I wanted to capture the sights and experiences of our adventure.  I was working my way through the Art Quilt Workbook at the time and many of the techniques I learned were worked into this quilt.











    The first block I started  lead me onto a path of self discovery.  I wanted to include the state flower, Fireweed.  I had lots of photos but no pattern.   Through trial and error, I discovered I could draw my own patterns.  It opened up the world of options for this quilt.   I was experimenting with  curved piecing  and used  it for the background on this block and the for the moose.

     The moose.....If you happen to be in Anchorage, look for the corner building with the purple moose painted on it, there is a great bakery inside!  My son in law made frequent stops for their lemon pie.  But actually the name for the quilt came from my daughter's remark.... "I saw a moose!".   she was doing a happy dance and so excited to see one in real life.

   All the applique was done by machine with a bit of extra thread stitching for some details....like the birch tree details and the chinking between the logs on the Chapel  on the Hill block.
  The borders were inspired by a favorite technique of mine, the blended braid.  I love to do watercolor quilts, and the blending of the braid strips are just a natural progression for me.
 






     My favorite block..... probably the glacier block.  This was the view from the cabin where we stayed. Imagine seeing this from your back door each day.
It was so amazing to watch the sunrise, and  see the colors of the mountains  come alive in the distance.

   Techniques used:  machine applique, thread painting, curved piecing, blending.
   Size:   41" by 62"
   Best category:  Applique quilt or wall hanging
   Quilted by me on my domestic machine.


Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of the  festival.  


Happy stitching.

I saw a Moose

This is  probably the last post about the AK quilt---I saw a Moose.  It has been fun and quite a revelation, an epiphany,  for  me.   As I was sewing on the binding, I was listening to the radio and a  country song ( I listen to all types of music!)  came on that was taken straight from one of my favorite quotes. 

Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take,

but rather by the moments that take your breathe away. 

The song recalls  the importance of slowing down, and taking time, and of the joy of the race and not just the winning.  Tears ran down my face as I listened and knew why this quilt is so important to me and why it has taken a dozen posts to get through it.   The trip to Alaska was full of  "moments that  take your breathe away".   The creation of each block caused me to slow down and enjoy the process.  Drawing the patterns, dying fabrics,  and using techniques I had recently learned through the Art Quilt Workbook were added bonuses.  I will be reminded of the joy of the trip and my family each time I see it as I walk down the hall to my sewing room...especially the purple moose. 

  The label is almost as large as the quilt, but I love it.  I had planned to use the block on the left on the front of the quilt, but it just didn't work.  So, I moved it to the back and made it part of the huge label.  Then I found the moose graphic, and had to include him. 

  And finally, the entire thing.  Hope you have enjoyed the adventure as much as I did.
 And I get to cross another one off my list.
Happy stitching.

Borders done!

Finally!  I didn't get as much done this weekend as I had hoped on the  braid borders.  I  had to play around with the side border  quite a bit.     I added several fabrics in the braid to get the length.  And still it is not perfect, but then I don't allow the quilt police in my house.  But I love the overall effect.   Unfortunately I have bias on the edge....I stay-stitched around it all to try to avoid too much stretching.   So here's a partial photo before it gets pinned and quilted. 
  The process for the border---basic braid construction where one strip is added to triangle or square in this case, sew and flip and press, and then add the next strip to the adjoining side.  (For great  detail instructions, see quiltville.com.)   Using the light square as my center point, I added strips to one side of the square and then completed the other side.  I had "auditioned"  fabric and used the value viewer to determine value for placement.  I worked from light in the center to the darkest, then added a medium value and back to lightest fabric.  When I was satisfied with the blending, I wrote down a list.  This is important, because it is very easy to get distracted and then add a fabric out of sequence.  Then sew, and sew some more till done.  Press carefully to avoid stretching and stay stitch both edges after trimming to desired width. 
I think I need  a little "mindless" sewing after this one.  No more math and figuring sizes, no partial seams,  and no matching points for a  while. 
Happy stitching.

AK quilt layout and plan B

My challenge was the layout because I had created blocks of different sizes.  And #2 challenge was how to set them together.  I realized I did not have enough of the fabric I intended to use.  I even searched on ebay for it, and ta-da!  No fabric but a booklet of an Alaskan sampler that had a great border treatment....I bid and won it for $2.  So plan B began to evolve. 

I further limited myself to size....I wanted to be able to hang this quilt in a certain spot and the size needed to be no more that 49 inches wide.  Length wasn't a problem.  After various tries that didn't work, I went back to basic design principles of balance and symmetry.  The two wide blocks were set in opposite corners, and the one long block went into the center.  Now it began to work together.     The other blocks just seemed to find their own spot.  An outer strip of the dark fabric is still to be added, but here's the layout.

The border is a braid strip that is shaded light to dark from the center of each side to the corner.  The sampler booklet uses 2 sets of chevron strips to create the border.  I decided to use a braid---since I  just finished a french braid quilt.  That was a huge help to figure the math required to determine the size of strips to use.  Part of the learning process.

Insight:  Use your experience from one project to the next project.  So far  I have one section about half done.  Guess I know what I will do this weekend. 

Final AK block--I think

I think this is the last block for my AK quilt.  It is Index Lake at Victory Camp.  I used several techniques in this one, and learned a lot.  
1) For the fused pieces, I used misty fuse because I wanted to do some thread painting on the trees.   It is a lighter fusible than the "paper backed" variety and so it is easier to stitch through and does not gum up your needle.  Plus I could work from the front of my design and did not have to reverse all the pieces.  It is more time consuming, but I am happy with the results.
2)  Drawing the entire block took a while.  I worked a rough sketch from a photo Deana took of the lake.  I had to eliminate a lot of details, or I would still be cutting, fusing, and stitching.  I decided on the size of the block and drew it on freezer paper.  Then I drew in the basic shapes and layout.  When I was satisfied with the sketch, I traced another one on freezer paper that I could cut part for the individual pieces.  The freezer paper pieces were then pressed to the right sides of the selected fabrics.
3)  Fabric selection to get the right values for the depth and perspective on the mountains and the shadowed area for the lake---which was frozen was important to me.  I used sun painted fabric  that I did last week for the sky. Value viewer helped and I even used the wrong side of a couple of pieces.
4)  Thread painting the trees to create the texture and branches was new for me.  Most of the thread painting that I have done has been on layers of tulle and solvy that were cut out and appliqued on.  For this I fused the trees trunk on and then did the stitching for the branches and down the sides and at the base of the trees. 
5)  Finally, I used prismacolor pencils in a few spots for highlights and shadows that I missed.
Now to decide the layout.  I had planned to use one fabric for the border and between the blocks, but I do not have enough of it.  I have searched the Internet and asked people and contacted shops in the area, but no luck.  So, I have gone to plan B.  I will use  the planned fabric for setting the blocks together.  For the border I will do a shaded braid strip....that's my next step. 
Insight:   I am so glad I did the Art Quilt Workbook projects.  I have used many of them in the blocks  for this quilt.  Thank you, Mona, for suggesting the group project.  Thank you, Elin and Jane, for writing the book.  Thank you to my project group for sticking with it. 
Insight:   Either buy larger amounts of fabric, or have a plan B.  There goes my stash busting plan and my budget!
Happy stitching.

Research leads to inspiration

I call it research, but it is really searching the Internet.  Object of search---an eagle--preferably a simple design for another block for my AK quilt.  A few hits and misses and then I found one free-quilt-patterns.net that was just about right.  Along  the way I spotted a dragonfly that I really liked too....hmmmm.

I used a birds in the air block for the background for the eagle perched on a branch.  This one went together really quickly---guess I have done enough fusing and applique for this quilt that I should have the technique figured out. 
And the entire time I am working on the eagle, I kept  musing about the dragonfly and other unfinished projects to complete.  I was sure  that was a pattern I needed for something.  Later going to get the mail, I noticed a couple of dragonflies on the lavender by the drive.  Aha!  I  could use the dragonfly as the accent on the watercolor wall hanging for the class  I will be teaching.
 So back to computer to look for actual images of dragonflies.    I needed a fairly small size and yet large enough to thread paint.  There are some wonderful sites devoted entirely to dragonflies....who knew?   And they come in all kinds of colors and shapes.  I picked  a photo of a blue darter and  zoomed in to trace the shape.  I also discovered that dragonflies are a symbol of renewal and the positive life forces.   I love it----I have a name for the wall hanging now.  
Insight:  Every time inspiration hits, it hits me by surprise.   I never know where it comes from, or when it will arrive.   Sometimes I am at my highest, and other times at my lowest.  My mind--that  tangle of crossed wires and such--processes things I have seen, heard, felt, and dreamed to compose a single beautiful idea to express who I am.    Where do others get their inspiration, their vision?   Probably the same way I do, it just took me a long time to understand. 
So.............Off to do some thread painting.  Sneak peek tomorrow.  Happy stitching.

The inspired block

I haven't accomplished a lot this past week, as I am having a lot of pain from tendonitis.  Hopefully by taking a break from sewing and yard work I can get past it.  So no major art project again this week, just a single block I wanted to do.

A few days ago I mentioned inspiration from the delectable mountain block for my AK quilt.

Here's what I came up with for the block of the Matanuska Glacier view.   It's about 15 inches by 12 inches overall.     I like the effect of the block versus the applique.  Fused and machine appliqued, I should say.  I just free hand cut the snow and the tree line for the foreground.   I will probably do a couple more of this type for the AK quilt.
Till then, happy stitches.

Hibernating from the heat

It has been too hot this week to do much of anything, but stay inside.  If this is the first day of summer at 98 degrees, what does August look like?  Ah, dreams of the coolness of  Alaska....so I have been working on two new blocks for the AK quilt. 

Tundra Rose....the Tundra Rose grows wild in AK, and it just happened that the cabin  where we stayed  was named the Tundra Rose.  A log cabin block as the background for the machine applique seemed just right to me.   I used my machine to stitch the name along  the top log. 
Second block was the Chapel on the Hill in Copper Center. 
I knew the photo I wanted to use for the view, so I confess to a

"cheat" here.  Tracing paper taped to the computer screen (after I enlarged the view of the photo) and a felt tip pen made quick work of the basic pattern.  The 3/4 view had some funky angles that I just didn't think I could get right.  I actually pieced the brown part of the building--using freezer paper for templates to get the angles right.  Finding the right fabric and then creating the shadows, and figuring out how to do the steeple took most of the day.  I used stitching to create the chinking "between"  the logs.  I will probably add a few more details before I get it squared up. 

I also finished the quilting on the jewel box quilt yesterday...I still haven't named it yet.   Just the binding to go on it.   And the art group meets tomorrow, so I have lots to share then. 

Fractured block?

This is the block I worked on for the AK quilt using the inset strips technique from the Art Quilt Workbook.  I am very pleased with the block, but still think the technique is a pain....  This is not really what the book had in mind, but it captures the image I had in my head of the mountains. 

 Truthfully this is a fractured bargello type technique. I never completed one of those and now I know why!

I used the same blues for the sky and mountain top as I used for the background of the purple moose and fireweed blocks.   Hopefully a little consistency in fabrics will help make this quilt work.  Guess I have learned a few things from doing all the art projects.  And by doing all the exercises I am getting blocks done for the AK quilt.  I like that.